


it's been a while

by nakayuz



Category: One Piece
Genre: Comfort, Hurt, Injury Recovery, M/M, Pre-Time Skip, Thriller Bark, zolu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21969109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakayuz/pseuds/nakayuz
Summary: after another full day of celebration, luffy retreats to a small area where zoro was kept, isolated from the noise to recover from whatever hell he had experienced while the rest of the crew was knocked out.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 2
Kudos: 109





	it's been a while

**Author's Note:**

> something real small i mindlessly wrote, just because i was in a bit of a zolu mood. :)

after another full day of celebration, luffy retreats to a small area where zoro was kept, isolated from the noise to recover from whatever hell he had experienced while the rest of the crew was knock out. the area was cold, and the smell of antiseptics and medicine was heavy, enough to make one’s eyes water, and was relatively cleaner compared to the rest of thriller bark’s destruction.

he found chopper asleep nearby, a small newspaper being used as a blanket while the only one was given to his patient. luffy sits down next to zoro, crossing his legs and grabbing his hand, paying extra attention to how he handled it. he didn’t want to accidentally cause him more pain than what he was already suffering.

luffy breathes deeply, taking in the sight of his first mate. they’ve all been injured a lot recently, a lot more than what he was used to, and to see someone as strong as this man in such a state made him uneasy. bandages covering almost every inch of his body, some with light red stains, some dirty and loose. zoro’s eyes were closed, his eyebrows furrowed, and mouth pursed. luffy didn’t like that expression.

luffy starts to fidget with zoro’s hand, tugging at the bandages and running his fingers over his palm. he rubs gently into the back of his hand using his thumbs and then pulls his hand to his lips, planting soft kisses on his bruised and bloody knuckles, a thought that maybe it’ll relax him somehow. 

“tastes bad.” luffy mumbles, moving to set his zoro’s hand back to his side, but finds himself not wanting to let go. “it’s been a while. when will zoro wake up?” it’s been just a couple of days since sanji had brought zoro back to the group, the sight making his stomach drop. luffy can barely remember what really happened afterwards. all he knows is that it was horrible, the whole thing. absolutely horrible.

_was it my fault_? he thinks.

luffy sighs, finally letting go of zoro’s hand and opts to lay beside him, taking notice of his exhaustion. the ground is hard and far from comfortable, and he thinks that they should have tried harder to find something better for zoro to lie on instead of a couple of newspapers and generously donated articles of clothing, but as long as he’s not lying directly on the ground like he, then he believes it should be okay.

before closing his eyes, luffy pulls the blanket over zoro up to his chin, adjusting it accordingly. his hand reaches up and brushes some dirt from his cheek, his hand lingering and thumb caressing gently. there’s no reaction, not even a groan, but it makes luffy smile to see how the tension that was once in his face before disappearing. 

luffy leans over and kisses his cheek gently. “...’night, zoro.” he whispers, then pulls away and finally closes his eyes, turning so his back was facing zoro.


End file.
